1. Field of the Invention
A coding apparatus used to apply a code which could be representative of geographical locations of intended distribution and sale of prepackaged goods which is structured to apply puncture apertures to an end or side of a package so as to encode the package in a non-obtrusive manner thereby insuring identity of the individual packages by means of their intended geographical points of sale.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the sale and distribution of goods in interstate commerce including import and export trade between countries and territories, it is well recognized that sales and distributorship are granted for certain specified territorial areas. The granted territorial areas are in turn specifically designated and defined by geographical locations and boundaries. Accordingly, sale or distribution of packaged products into another's territorial area represents a serious violation of trade practices and frequently a loss of sales into the violated territorial area.
In order to stop such violation, attempts have been made to code packages with a predetermined code which can be readily checked when an investigator examines the packages and/or products found for sale in a given geographical area. Tampering or forgery of such codes raises an additional problem leading to the need in the prior art in this particular commercial area for a system and/or apparatus for coding packages in an efficient manner utilizing a coding system which will be difficult or impossible to forge and which is readily and easily applied to the packages without the necessity of excessive or unnecessary handling of the packages.
Typically, a plurality of packages are contained in a stacked array within a larger shipping carton or container. A preferred coding technique therefor would enable the coding of the individual packages, presented for sale, without the requirement of unpacking such plurality of packages from the shipping or storage container in which they are transported.
Accordingly, there is a need in this area of commerce for a coding system and mechanism to accomplish the proper encoding of contained packages in an efficient, nonobtrusive manner so as to overcome problems existing in the prior art relating to this field.